Europe Recap #1

As promised, I am finally going to start recapping our trip to Europe. It has hard to believe that we returned from our amazing trip over two weeks ago. Last weekend we were missing it so much that I made currywurst for lunch on Sunday so we could feel like we were still in Germany. And just last night we were already brainstorming where we could go in 2015.

Our first stop was Budapest, Hungary. We took a red eye flight from Dulles to Heathrow and after a short layover, had another 2.5 hour flight to Budapest. It was a long day of traveling but we arrived in Budapest with all of our luggage (always a fear of mine after Patrick's luggage didn't make it with us during our 2008 trip). While we both really enjoyed our time in Budapest, we agreed that it is probably a city that we didn't feel the need to return to. It is a beautiful city that is split into two parts - Buda and Pest - by the Danube river. Unfortunately a lot of its original charm and history (it once rivaled Vienna and Paris with charm and cafes) were destroyed during the Soviet Occupation. So to us it felt like a city that was stuck between that Soviet Occupation and desperately wanting to reclaim the culture and energy it once had.

Our first afternoon and evening in Budapest was spent in the Pest part of the city. We walked around the town a little to get oriented and had dinner. Because of jet lag we fell asleep pretty early. The next day we took the metro to Buda and walked around the Castle Hill area. Afterward we took the train to the City Park before heading back to our hotel for a little nap. We had a nice traditional Hungarian dinner (beef stew, chicken paprikash and dumplings). The next day we had a few hours before we left for Vienna so we explored the Market Hall.

Outside the Hungarian Parliament building in Pest.

My favorite shop name in Budapest. We didn't go in but I obviously loved the name.

A view of the Parliament building from Buda.

Who rode this funicular to the top of Castle Hill in Buda.

A view of Pest from Buda.

A view of the Chain Bridge and Pest from Buda.

While at Castle Hill we were able to catch a changing of the guard.

Another view of Pest from Buda. You can see that the leaves were starting to change colors.

City Park is similar to Central Park in NYC, it is a beautiful green space in the city. This is where the Turkish Baths that Budapest is famous far are located. We did not bring our swimsuits so we weren't able to check them out.

We lucked out with a really great hotel room. It was less than a block away from a metro and our room was upgraded to the top floor with a balcony. If it was a little warmer we definitely would have spent more time sitting on the balcony. 

The Central Market Hall reminded us a lot of the Westside Market in Cleveland with lots of different vendors and stalls selling all kinds of fresh produce, meats, and prepared foods. 

Outside of the Market

Our next stop.....Vienna!